ID :
183155
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 14:04
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http://m.oananews.org//node/183155
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Airlines cut flights from Gold Coast
May 19 (AAP) Airlines withdrew capacity and cut flights from the Gold Coast to key interstate capitals in March, a report says.
Available flights and seats to the Queensland holiday spot from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide were all down from a year ago, figures from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) released on Thursday showed.
The number of aircraft movements between the Gold Coast and Sydney in March 2011 was down 5.5 per cent compared with a year ago and the number of available seats had been cut by 12.8 per cent.
For Gold Coast-Melbourne, there were 5.8 per cent fewer aircraft movements and 10.9 per cent fewer available seats.
Australia's domestic carriers had 39.2 per cent fewer seats between the Gold Coast and Adelaide in March, compared with the prior corresponding period, and the number of flights was down 32.2 per cent.
The BITRE report does not break down the figures to individual airlines.
Jetstar group chief executive Bruce Buchanan said recently the low-cost carrier held about 60 per cent of the Gold Coast market as of January this year.
Mr Buchanan said Jetstar, currently the only airline to offer direct flights between the Gold Coast and Perth, had about 21 per cent of the Australian domestic market.
In terms of the overall figures, the BITRE report showed growth in domestic airline passenger traffic failed to match the additional capacity being added into the market in March.
The number of domestic passengers increased by 2.7 per cent to 4.61 million in March 2011, compared with the prior corresponding period.
Meanwhile, capacity, as measured by available seat kilometres, grew by 5.7 per cent.
"With capacity increasing at a faster rate than passenger traffic, the industry wide load factor decreased from 79.5 per cent in March 2010 to 77.7 per cent in March 2011," the BITRE report said.
"Seat utilisation on individual routes decreased on 26 of the 54 routes for which data is available in both years."
Load factors are a measure of how full flights are.
Available flights and seats to the Queensland holiday spot from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide were all down from a year ago, figures from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) released on Thursday showed.
The number of aircraft movements between the Gold Coast and Sydney in March 2011 was down 5.5 per cent compared with a year ago and the number of available seats had been cut by 12.8 per cent.
For Gold Coast-Melbourne, there were 5.8 per cent fewer aircraft movements and 10.9 per cent fewer available seats.
Australia's domestic carriers had 39.2 per cent fewer seats between the Gold Coast and Adelaide in March, compared with the prior corresponding period, and the number of flights was down 32.2 per cent.
The BITRE report does not break down the figures to individual airlines.
Jetstar group chief executive Bruce Buchanan said recently the low-cost carrier held about 60 per cent of the Gold Coast market as of January this year.
Mr Buchanan said Jetstar, currently the only airline to offer direct flights between the Gold Coast and Perth, had about 21 per cent of the Australian domestic market.
In terms of the overall figures, the BITRE report showed growth in domestic airline passenger traffic failed to match the additional capacity being added into the market in March.
The number of domestic passengers increased by 2.7 per cent to 4.61 million in March 2011, compared with the prior corresponding period.
Meanwhile, capacity, as measured by available seat kilometres, grew by 5.7 per cent.
"With capacity increasing at a faster rate than passenger traffic, the industry wide load factor decreased from 79.5 per cent in March 2010 to 77.7 per cent in March 2011," the BITRE report said.
"Seat utilisation on individual routes decreased on 26 of the 54 routes for which data is available in both years."
Load factors are a measure of how full flights are.
